


Saving LA, Saving Each Other

by Araloth



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Costumes, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Rivalry, Superhero Buck, Superhero Eddie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:46:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Araloth/pseuds/Araloth
Summary: In a world where certain individuals can develop superpowers, Buck is ready to take the step from firefighter to being an even bigger hero. And it looks like he might not be alone. There's another mysterious hero saving people around Los Angeles too, and dangers lurking Buck couldn't have possibly imagined. If Buck didn't have to put up with a new recruit at the firehouse making his day job miserable things would be pretty great...
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

“So what do you think?” Buck bounced into Maddie’s living room, grinning.

“Umm… wow.” Maddie cringed just a little. “That’s uh- that’s a lot…”

“What? Aw come on it looks awesome!” Buck looked down at the white and gold spandex he was wearing. Buck concentrated for a second and his whole body started to glow, a golden nimbus swirling just above his skin. “See?” Buck grinned wider. He couldn’t help it. Buck was one of a lucky few people around the world who had developed superpowers.

The phenomenon had started about a decade ago. Under extreme stress, or with some particular external stimuli, a small percentage of the population developed extraordinary abilities. Scientists had been able to link the phenomenon to a certain gene, but efforts to track or study it were next to impossible given how infrequently it was expressed. And most people who did somehow develop extraordinary abilities didn’t advertise it- nobody wanted to become a lab rat somewhere. Buck couldn’t say for certain what it was that has caused him to develop his powers, between his old Navy seal training and his job as a firefighter he got exposed to a lot more danger than most people. However it happened, Buck felt like he’d won the genetic lottery. Ever since he was a little kid he’d been obsessed with comics and superheroes, and now he would finally have the chance to actually _be_ one!

Buck had been planning things out for almost a year now, and he was getting anxious to just get out there already. Today was supposed to be the day he showed Maddie his incredible costume and wowed her with it. So far, she seemed less than impressed.

“It’s just… well-“ Maddie blushed a little and looked away. “You can see _a lot_ , Buck…"

“Well yeah…” Buck frowned. He looked down at his new costume again. It was cut basically like a wrestling singlet, leaving his arms and a good portion of his legs exposed. “I recharge faster the more of my skin is exposed…” Buck’s unique ability involved him absorbing solar energy directly into his body. Once he had it, Buck could channel it in a lot of different ways. The only real catch was that once Buck used up all the energy he had, he needed to absorb more. The process didn’t seem instantons either. Buck had figured out at work this last year that if he expended all of his energy reserves it could take him hours to get some back. Hence the more exposed skin. The more of Buck’s body he could directly absorb sunlight through the faster he could recharge.

“I don’t just mean that.” Maddie chuckled. “It’s just, uh, pretty tight Buck.”

Buck flushed a little. He brought his hands down in front of his crotch self-consciously. “Maddie!”

“I’m just saying, you might want to invest in some different underwear because right now you can see _everything_ -“

“Okay! Okay yeah please stop talking!” Buck turned around so his back was to Maddie. “But like the design Maddie… what do you think about the design?”

“I mean… it looks fine Buck.” Maddie shrugged.

“Just fine?” What was left of Buck’s enthusiasm deflated.

Maddie rolled her eyes. She smiled at Buck. “This is more your thing than mine alright? The important thing is that you like it. Right now all I’m seeing is the suit that showed off way more of my little brother than I ever needed to see.” Maddie patted Buck’s shoulder.

"Yeah…" Buck smiled to himself, looking down at the suit. "Yeah, I like it."

“And you’re sure you want to do this?” Maddie asked. “You’re already a firefighter Buck.”

“But I can’t fully use my powers to help people on the job. I sneak a little in here or there, but nothing like I can really do.

Maddie nodded slowly. “Just be careful out there okay?”

“How could I not be with you in my ear?” Buck grinned. Maddie had worked out a way that she could send Buck dispatches from the 9-1-1 center like she would any other emergency responder during her shifts. “You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’ve got this Buck.” Maddie waved him off. “I’ll be careful." Maddie picked up the last part of Buck's costume and pressed it into his hands. "You just make sure you keep your mask on. If you get carted off to a government lab somewhere rescuing you would probably be a real pain."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Buck grinned. "I wouldn't bet against you."

“All the same-“ Maddie stood up on her tiptoes and slipped the mask over Buck’s face. “Let’s not find out huh?”

Buck nodded, taking in his reflection in a mirror on Maddie’s wall. He couldn’t help the excitement that started bubbling inside him again. He looked like a real superhero. Now all he had to do was get out there and start saving people.

***

Buck was still walking on air when he arrived at the firehouse. He’d made the um, adjustments, Maddie had suggested to his costume, and now the only thing that stood between him and his first official outing as Los Angles’ newest superhero was a shift at work.

“Hey there Buckaroo.” Hen laughed at Buck as he stepped inside. “Somebody seems happy today.”

“You know what I am.” Buck grinned. “Today’s gonna be a good day. I can feel it.”

“What’s got you so excited huh?” Hen chuckled.

“It’s that hot firefighter calendar right?” Chimney chuckled. "They're making their picks in a few days here."

Honestly, Buck had almost completely forgotten about the calendar. But he couldn’t exactly tell Hen and Chimney what had him really excited. Buck grinned. "Yeah, you got me.' He flexed a little. "Can't wait to show these off."

"Assuming you get picked," Chimney said. “There other fine choices from the 118.”

Hen frowned. “I didn’t think Cap submitted a picture.”

“What?” Chimney gaped at Hen. “You wound me. No, I’m talking about me. I have a shot.”

“I know Chim.” Hen giggled. “I just wanted to see your face.” She ducked a swat from Chimney and laughed harder. “Frankly I don’t know why you boys are so into that dang calendar anyways.”

“Boys now huh?” Chimney snorted. “You know it’s all for charity.”

“So the bragging rights have nothing to do with it for y’all?” Hen cocked her eyebrows at them.

Buck grinned at Chimney. "Okay, maybe a little of that too."

“Mmhm.” Hen smiled. “That’s what I thought.”

“There you all are.” Bobby came down the stairs to join them. “I’ve got somebody I want you all to meet.”

“Hey Cap.” Buck smiled. “Who is it?”

Bobby motioned them all over to the locker rooms. “New recruit. His name’s Eddie Diaz. Just graduated top of his class from the academy. Guys at Station 6 were dying to have him but I convinced him to sign on with us.”

Buck watched as the guy pulled off his shirt and picked up one with the 118’s logo on it. Buck swallowed hard. The guy was hot. There was no other way about it.

“Haha look at you, Buck." Chimney laughed. "You a little jealous? Looks like you might have some real competition for that calendar after all. That-“Chimney pointed to the new guy. “-is a beautiful man.”

“Where’s the lie?” Hen cocked her head a little studying him. “And I don’t even like guys.”

_I do._ Buck winced. Checking out the new guy was not a great idea. “Why do we need him?”

Bobby chuckled. “Guy served two tours in Afghanistan as an army medic. He’s got a Silver Star, he’s not exactly wet behind the ears.”

Buck frowned. “I guess…”

"Cheer up Buck." Chimney slapped him on the back. "Maybe you can be on the calendar next year."

“C’mon.” Bobby started over to the locker room and waved for the others to follow him. “I’ll introduce you to him.” Bobby winked at Buck. “He likes to be called ‘Eight Pack’.”

Hen and Chimney burst out laughing. Buck sighed and followed them over. Honestly, he didn't care about the calendar that much. It might be fun, but Buck had other things going for him too. He wasn't the biggest fan of Bobby just bringing a new guy into the little work family they had going at the 118, but Buck wouldn't let it bother him. He thought back to the new super-suit he had stashed in his car and smiled. Today was still going to be a good day. 

***

Buck was wrong. The whole shift was awful. For whatever reason Bobby had decided to stick Buck with the new guy when it came to giving out assignments on calls. After a full day of working with him, Buck could begrudgingly admit the guy knew his stuff, but that didn't mean Buck liked him. All-day whatever Buck did it was like Eddie set out to one-up him. First Eddie had been the one to come up with the solution to help the guy with the air nozzle when no one else could. Then there had been a woman trapped in her car after a pile-up on a bridge. When the car started to go over the edge Eddie managed to grab her and deadlift her up out of harm's way. Whatever Buck did Eddie seemed to do better. He was stronger than Buck, had more medical knowledge and training, and by the end of his first he was fitting in like he’s always been a part of the 118 crew. Whatever brief attraction Buck had felt when he first saw him melted away in the face of his constant annoyance.

“So he's a talented firefighter," Maddie said calmly. Buck had called as soon as his shift ended to complain. "Isn't that a good thing?"

“It’s not that he’s talented-“ Buck grumbled. “It’s like he just got here and already he owns the whole place. Nobody should be that comfortable…”

“So he’s a good firefighter, and a good fit at the 118.” Maddie teased. “That must be terrible.”

Buck rolled his eyes. “C’mon on Maddie…”

"No, I'm serious," Maddie said. "I'm still not seeing the problem. I think it's a good thing you have one more guy watching your back out there…”

Buck didn’t say anything. That had been one of Maddie’s first objections to Buck wanting to try out hero work, namely that Buck would try and do the same kind of stuff he did as a firefighter only without all the tools and backup. Even he had superpowers Buck wasn’t invulnerable. Buck could actually channel some of his energy into a sort of shield around himself, but as Maddie frequently reminded him it wasn’t the same thing. Buck sighed. “I don’t know… he’s just kind of a jerk.”

“Actually a jerk or you think that because you don't like him?"

Buck didn’t say anything.

“Okay fine,” Maddie said a little exasperatedly, “he can be a jerk. It was only his first day. Give it time. Maybe it will get better.” Buck heard a car door slam. “Now though you’re going to have to let me go because I need to get to my job.” Maddie lowered her voice a little. “Are you going- you know….”

“Yeah.” Buck smiled a little, trying to summon up his enthusiasm from earlier again. “I just needed to vent a little first. I’ll uh, talk to you later?”

“Be careful okay?”

Buck laughed. "I always am."

Maddie chuckled. “That’s not as encouraging as you think.”

Once Maddie hung up Buck hopped out of his car. He didn’t really have a great place to change into his costume so he’d opted to park in a large parking garage and slip out. That way at least if someone saw Buck leaving the garage in costume they wouldn’t know which car was his and be able to track him down. He made sure there were no cameras that could catch him in the act of changing either. The last thing he needed to kick off his superhero career was an indecent exposure charge, not to mention all the possibility of his identity getting out.

Buck couldn’t stop smiling as he finished pulling on his costume. Buck jogged to the edge of the garage and stepped back outside. It was still pretty early in the afternoon. Maddie would alert him if she got a 9-1-1 call he might be able to help on, but in the meantime, he just had to kind of… wander around. Buck trudged through a nearby neighborhood, getting a couple of odd looks from passersbys. Finally, Buck saw an older woman glaring at a cat up in a tree. He grinned. It wasn't exactly life and death, but Buck relished the opportunity to help.

“Is your cat stuck ma’am?” Buck asked.

The woman gave Buck a puzzled look. “She climbed up chasing some squirrel and won’t come back down. I don’t know if she’s stuck or just stubborn.”

“I can get her for you.” Buck offered.

The woman sighed. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t have a ladder that can get that high…”

"Oh, no problem!" Buck smiled wide. He concentrated for a second, a golden aura wrapping around him. The older woman's eyes widened, but she didn't freak out which Buck took as a good sign. Buck couldn't really fly, but he could sort of float with a little effort. As the woman watched Buck started to slowly rise up towards the tree. When he finally got up to eye level with the cat it eyed him skeptically. "Okay…" Buck reached out towards it slowly. This wasn't his first time having to help someone who was stuck, but they didn't usually have claws. "I'm just here to help…" Buck grabbed ahold of the cat gently and eased his way back down to the ground. As soon as Buck’s feet touched the ground the cat bolted back into the house, scratching up Buck’s arm in the process. Buck winced. “You’re welcome…”

The old woman smiled. "Sorry, she didn't thank you properly there. It was very nice of you-“

The little earpiece Buck had in buzzed suddenly. A computerized voice called out a street address not too far from Buck. _“Robbery in progress. Proceed with caution. Suspects armed.”_

Buck barely refrained from pumping his fist in the air. Barely into his first day as a hero and he had a real opportunity to shine. “I’m so sorry ma’am I have to go!” Buck raced down her street. “Uh- duty calls!” He ran several blocks, thankful for all the endurance training he under his belt thanks to being a firefighter. Buck rounded a big brick building and saw a man being held at knifepoint by another guy, while two others took off down an alley. 

“Stop right there!” Buck projected his voice as loudly as he could. He got baffled from both the guy with the knife and his victim.

“Who the hell are you supposed to be?” Knife guy asked.

Buck grinned. He loved an opening like that. “I’m the guy who’s going to stop you.” Buck raised his hands up and fired a small blast of energy off at the man. It hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him down onto the ground. Buck pinned him down, and smiled up at the man he’d just saved. “You’re alright now.”

“Barely.” The guy groaned. “And those other two idiots stole my wallet and keys!”

"Oh." Buck started to stand up to go after them, and he realized he had no way of securing the guy he'd already taken down. His costume didn't exactly have pockets. Buck suddenly realized why utility belts were a thing. He might have to look into that. 

“Go!” The guy waved Buck off. “I can watch this guy.”

Buck scrambled up. His earpiece chimed again. _“Other responders arriving. 727L30.”_ Buck took off down the alley after the muggers. He felt a little better leaving the would-be victim since the police were almost here. The designation Maddie had sent sounded familiar, but Buck couldn’t place it off the top of his head. Maybe it was someone he’d run into on the job at some point.

Only one of the muggers was still in the alley when Buck got there. Buck lost sight of where the first one had gone, but lucky for him it looked like the slower one was carrying the man's wallet. He spun around and glared at Buck wide-eyed. 

“What kind of freak show are you?”

Buck ignored him, firing off another little burst of energy. He didn’t want to overdo and seriously injure the guy, even if he was a criminal. The mugger ducked and pulled out a knife of his own. He tried to rush forward and stab Buck, but Buck tripped him up with a quick sweep of his leg. The mugger went down hard, and Buck snatched up the victim’s wallet.

“See, this is why you shouldn’t-“

“Freeze! Hands in the air where I can see them.”

Buck lifted his hands and turned around slowly. Now he remembered why that designation sounded so familiar. It was Athena. It had been a while since Buck had been on the receiving end of one of her glares, and adding a pointed gun into the mix only made it scarier- not that Athena needed much help.

“Uh, hi Sergent…”

Athena frowned. “You know who I am?”

Buck could have kicked himself. He shouldn’t have said that. “Sort of. I promise I’m the good guy in all of this though. I stopped that first guy who a knife on your victim, and this guy has his wallet. Here-“ Buck lifted it up to toss to Athena, and Athena jerked her gun up higher.

“Not so fast! Not until I know what I’m dealing with.” Athena said. She nodded to the man lying at Buck’s feet. “Now I saw what you tried to do to him there. You one of those super people huh?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Ma’am.” Athena snorted. “Well here’s the deal, I don’t care who you are or what you can, you’re interfering with police-“ Athena broke off suddenly. “Oh, holy hell- Is that you Buckely?”

“W-what?” Buck stammered. Thankfully a quick look down at the mugger confirmed he was out cold. “No. Uh- I mean who’s that?”

"It is you." Athena holstered her gun and shook her. "I can see your damn birthmark." She pointed to Buck's forehead. 

Buck lifted his hand up to it absently. Why hadn’t he thought to cover it up? How could he have made such a big error? Buck swallowed hard. “Uh, hey Athena…”

“Mm don’t hey Athena me.” Athena shook her head. “You and I are going to have a long talk-“

A gunshot slammed into the alley wall just inched from Athena. Buck threw himself forward, pushing her to the ground despite Athena's protests, and bringing up a barrier of energy between them and the direction the shot had come from. Buck could see him now. The third mugger was on the roof of one of the buildings that made the narrow alley. He must have circled around and climbed up from another side of the building. And unlike his friends, his gun was a bigger threat. The guy fired again and Buck’s shield absorbed it. But Buck couldn’t easily hold the shield up and get an angle to blast the guy at the same time. Buck looked around, scouring the alley for something he could use as a distraction. Maybe if he-

A sudden shout of surprise had Buck whipping back around to the man on the roof. The guy wasn't aiming at Buck or Athena anymore. Someone else was on the roof with him. Whoever it was had some kind of metallic helmet on. Their shirt was dark black with some similar metallic-looking overlay and their pants looked almost like the high-tech camouflage Buck had seen the military use. Buck gasped as the mugger fired at the masked man point-blank. 

The bullet hit the guy, but nothing happened. He just took two more steps up to the mugger and stripped away the man's gun before the mugger could even move. The masked man slid the bullets out of the gun and tossed them and the gun over the side of the roof into the alley. A second later he had the mugger down on the roof, his arms zip-tied behind his back. He looked down towards Buck and Athena for a second, or at least Buck though he did, and then the guy was gone.

Buck watched him move across the rooftops. Was that parkour? Whatever it was the guy moved effortlessly. Buck grinned. Now _that_ was a superhero. Buck couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t alone in Los Angeles. There was another hero out there too. 


	2. Sketches

These are some quick mock ups I did of what Eddie and Buck's superhero costumes are like to give you guys a better idea of what I'm thinking. I changed the bottom of Buck's costume after doing this sketch for story reasons once i had a better handle on how I wanted his powers to work. The legs of his costume would now end above his knees, and he'd have shorter boots. The upper half of his costume is still the same though. 

Anyway, like I said these are pretty rough and just something I threw together quickly to better visualize how I wanted them to look. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Is this really necessary?” Buck asked.

“Well seeing as by my count you broke about a dozen laws back there, I’d say it’s the least I should be doing.” Athena huffed. She leaned back against her squad car, peering in at Buck. Athena had made Buck sit in the back with his hands cuffed. Buck could have just melted the cuffs off, but that would probably have only made things worse.

Buck smiled innocently. “Okay.”

"Buck cooperating?" Athena sighed. "Now I know you're up to something."

“Well, I mean…” Buck grinned a little wider. “I did kind of save your life back there…”

“Mmhm.” Athena watched Buck carefully. “Just how long have you been doing all of this?” She waved her hand at Buck’s costume.

“Uh-“ Buck flushed. “This was actually my first time out…”

Athena laughed. “Well don’t you just have terrible luck then.”

“C’mon Athena,” Buck whined. “You’re a great cop, but even you have to admit that with all of the crazy things happening in LA lately you could use some help. I mean that plane crash and stuff last year…. I just want to be able to help people.”

"And you do," Athena said pointedly. "At your _real_ job.”

Buck shrugged heavily. “Sometimes it’s not enough.”

Athena took a deep breath and squinted down at Buck. “I don’t suppose you have any idea who that other yahoo was on the roof?”

Buck shook his head no.

Athena sighed. “Yeah, cause that would have been too easy…” She went back to studying Buck. Buck smiled up at her hopefully. “Okay,” Athena finally said with another sigh. “Here’s the deal…”

“Yes!” Buck bounced in his seat, nearly breaking the handcuffs without even thinking about it. “Thank you-“

“Ah-ah-ah!” Athena wagged a finger at Buck sternly. “You stay right there. You haven’t heard the rules yet.”

“Rules?” Buck grimaced.

“Rules.” Athena smiled. “You gonna be running around in tights like this in my city? You’re gonna follow my rules.”

Buck swallowed hard. Athena was deadly serious, but he could already feel an infectious joy bubbling back up in his chest. She wasn’t going to shut him down! “You won’t regret this Athena!”

Athena snorted. “Well, that remains to be seen." She chuckled to herself. "Evan Buckley a bonafide superhero. Who would have thought?"

Buck smiled all the way home.

***

The rules were simple enough, although Athena had made it clear she reserved the right to add any more if she thought of them. First, Buck had to text Athena any time he was out patrolling to let her know. Buck had overthought that one a little at first, asking Athena how he was supposed to let her know discreetly he was going out. After all, someone else could pick up her phone and see Buck's message. Athena had just rolled her eyes and sent Buck a text herself. It had just said, "Hey, I'm gonna be out, you or Bobby need anything?". Buck had started using it not long after. Athena had even actually asked Buck to pick a few groceries up for her once in response. Bobby had smiled when Buck dropped them off and said how nice it was of Buck to ask.

The biggest rule though was that Buck had to respect Athena. She hadn’t asked how Buck had been getting tips to 9-1-1 calls, which was good because Buck wouldn’t have told her. Maddie was helping out Buck, and there was no way he’d possibly hang her out to dry like that. Athena said she didn’t have a problem with him using a police scanner or whatever tools he had to hear about people who needed help, but if Athena got in touch with Buck and told him to stay away from a particular call he had to do it, no questions asked. Naturally, Buck had asked why. Athena had made it perfectly clear that Buck would never be able to understand all of the police work that went into certain cases, regardless of how close he sometimes worked with them. Between warrants, court orders, on the ground investigative work, and all of the department’s undercover or confidential informants, Athena had made it clear that Buck had better just take it on faith if she told him to avoid a particular case if he wanted their little arrangement to work out. Buck had hastily agreed.

Athena had also given Buck a modified police body camera. It was one of the department's older models and wasn't linked to the LAPD's servers anymore, so it wouldn't automatically transmit everything Buck recorded back. But it would let Buck send footage to Athena and the police when he needed to as a sort of anonymous tip they could use if they needed to formally arrest and process anyone Buck tangled with in his superhero work. Buck had painted it and managed to attach it covertly to his suit so anyone who saw it hopefully wouldn’t be able to identify what it was. Buck had been practicing more with his powers too, trying to get down using a shield and throwing off energy beams at the same time. After his first run-in with Athena in the alley, Buck was willing to bet it was a skill that would come in handy. The next time he went out Buck would be ready.

So, when Monday finally rolled around, Buck was practically bouncing along on his feet when he walked into work at the 118. Buck had a day off coming after his shift, and what could be better than a full shift with his work family, and then another chance to pull some super-heroics? Buck couldn't stop smiling as he strolled past the fire engines.

“What’s got you so perky today Buck?” Hen asked. “Don’t tell me it’s that stupid firefighter calendar still?”

“Hmm?” Truthfully, Buck had almost forgotten about the calendar with all the extra work he’d been putting into his superhero efforts. But he couldn’t exactly tell Hen that… “I mean yeah…” Buck grinned. “I couldn’t be more ready.”

"I don't know Buck," Chim smirked. "I really think America is ready for another Asian sex symbol.”

Buck chuckled. “Well, it’s nice that you and Cap think you have a shot Chim, but uh, they are only choosing one firefighter from each house…”

“And you think that’ll be you huh?” Bobby smiled at Buck and strolled over to join him and the others.

“I mean…” Buck shrugged, laughing.

Hen shook her head. “You ask me this whole thing is still stupid and incredibly sexist, just keeps perpetuating the idea that all firefighters are men.”

“Ah, come on Hen don’t be like that.” Chimney laughed. “It’s for charity.”

“Uh-huh.” Hen rolled her eyes. “And I’m sure that’d the only reason you and Buck want to be on it right?”

"Hey, it might not be them Hen," Bobby interjected.

Hen sighed. “C’mon Bobby, not you too?”

Bobby laughed. "I'm just saying…"

“Whew…” Chim blinked, looking over Buck’s shoulder. “Now that, is a beautiful man.”

Hen turned and did a little double-take. "Where's the lie? And I like girls."

Buck spun around curiously and swallowed hard. A man was standing in the team's open locker room shirtless, a man who just so happened to be one of the hottest guys Buck had ever seen. Buck frowned. As he watched the guy reached out and picked up an LAFD t-shirt, pulling it over his head and making his abs stand out as he twisted his arms through the sleeves. “Who’s that?” Buck asked roughly.

“That’s Eddie Diaz, new recruit.” Bobby smiled proudly. “He graduated top of his class just this week. The guys over at Station 6 were dying to have him, but I convinced him to sign up with us instead.”

“Why do we need him?” Buck asked, genuinely curious. Nobody had left the station recently. It’s true that the house wasn’t at its full capacity, but Buck hadn’t realized Bobby was even looking to take on more people.

Bobby laughed. “Guy was an army medic. He’s got a Silver Star. He’s not exactly wet behind the ears. C’mon.” Bobby took a step forward. “I’ll introduce you guys to him.”

“Silver Star, wow.” Hen smiled and fell in first behind Bobby.

Chimney turned to follow and smacked Buck's chest playfully. "Looks like you might have some real competition after all. You’re not the only young stud around anymore.”

"Uh-huh." Buck wandered over to the locker room after Chim, smiling to himself. However good this guy might be, Buck wasn't really worried, about the calendar or anything else. Buck's powers let him do things nobody else could. On the other hand, though, Buck didn't mind having a little more eye candy around the firehouse. After all, it wasn’t like Eddie could really shake things at the 118 up that much right?

***

Buck was wrong. He had been so, so wrong. Eddie Diaz was the absolute worst. Every chance he got Eddie made a point to undercut Buck with the rest of the 118. First, there was that mechanic who had fallen on the air nozzle. Bobby had given Buck a job to do, and before Buck could even start Eddie had jumped in with suggestions. And then somehow Eddie was taking over, and doing Buck's job, and impressing everybody. If that had been the end of it Buck could have handled it. Maybe Diaz had just been eager to prove himself. But then on their next call to a traffic pile-up, he'd made a point to show Buck up again.

One of the drivers had gotten themselves pinned inside of their car. Buck had been trying to get the door open to help them out, but it was too crunched up. If Buck had just used his powers he could have meted the hinges off with a quick energy burst and had the driver out in no time. But instead, Buck had jogged back to the truck to grab the jaws of life. By the time Buck got back, Eddie had somehow managed to pry the door off of the car and was helping the woman out from behind the wheel as onlookers clapped and cheered.

Buck had flagged down Chimney and asked how Eddie had gotten her free.

Chimney had just laughed. “Dude was like an animal. Hit it in just the right spots to pull it loose. He’s crazy buff. Buck couldn't argue that point. Even under his full fire jacket, the bulge of Eddie's biceps was clear. Chimney grinned. “Guess maybe you’re not the strongest guy anymore either Buck…”

Buck fumed silently when they all got back to the firehouse and headed over to the small in house gym they had set up to try and blow off some steam. He tried to let it go, really he did. But then Diaz came walking over, with his stupid evil biceps and went to work on the heavy bag. Buck growled low in his throat. It really wasn't fair. The guy had to be a sexy jerk who stole Buck's thunder, and then he went and danced around half-naked while boxing? Diaz's workout gear looked practically painted on. Buck let the weights he was lifting slam to the ground a little harder than he needed to, relishing the small startled flinch he pulled from Diaz.

"Alright." Diaz let the punching bag rest and stepped across the mats towards Buck. "What the hell's your problem with me man?"

Buck frowned. “My problem?”

“Yeah.” Diaz huffed. “Ever since I’ve got here. Everyone else is cool with me but not you… ”

“Okay.” Buck snapped. “My problem is you. Every call we’ve gone on you’re getting in my way. Doing my jobs.”

“Really?” Eddie gave Buck a cocky little grin. “Cause it seems like I’ve been getting them done when you can’t.”

Buck fumed. “Bobby’s assigning them to me.”

Eddie shrugged. "Well, he didn't seem to have a problem with me jumping in and helping out."

“I had it handled.” Buck glared at Eddie. “If I needed your help I would have asked for it.”

“Right.” Eddie snorted. “Whatever man. Just don’t take your personal issues out on me okay?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Buck asked.

“It means I know your girlfriend just left you and you aren’t handling it well.” Eddie started. “So-“

Buck saw red. How was his relationship with Abby any of Diaz’s business? Buck could feel his fist starting to glow…

"Hey!" Chimney called down from the firehouse's second-floor balcony. "What are you guys doing down there? Get up here. The news is touting some kind of special report!"

Buck quickly hid his hand in the pocket of his shorts and reluctantly followed Eddie up the stairs to the second floor of the firehouse. The whole team was crowding around the couches in front of the TV, watching the local news. Buck took a look, curiously. He recognized the normal news anchor on one side of the network's split-screen, but the other side had a red-headed reported Buck didn't think he'd seen before. Then Buck saw the title running on the banner underneath the screen and a thrill ran through him.

_LA Superhero?_

“What are they saying?” Buck asked Chimney.

“Shh.” Chimney pointed at the screen.

The anchor was smiling. "So, we hear you have a pretty exciting story for us, Taylor?"

The screen shifted to the redhead, Taylor, and she started to speak. Buck grinned. "Hey, that's Taylor Kelly! She's the one who does all that awesome traffic reporting. Man, she's saved me so much time before-"

“Buck hush!” Hen gave Buck a little shove.

“-that’s right Sherry!” Taylor Kelly was beaming on screen. "As everyone knows superheroes having been popping up more and more lately all over the United States. Miami has Firefox, and Austin has its own famous father and son team, and now it looks like California, and more specifically Los Angles, has a brand-new superhero all its own.”

Buck was grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't help it. This was amazing! He'd only had one major outing and already the press was catching on. Buck hadn't decided to become a superhero for the attention, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't make him a little excited. I mean what little kid didn't grow up dreaming of becoming famous? Buck wondered if someone would make action figures of him. If they did Buck was totally buying one.

The screen on the TV shifted, showing Taylor Kelly up in her traffic copter with the pilot and a cameraman. The image was frozen for a second as Taylor finished setting it up.

"-This is the extraordinary footage we captured earlier today, which I think you'll agree is really exciting." The video started playing. Taylor and the cameraman were already talking.

“There’s supposed to be some congestion over closer to Hollywood.” Taylor looked up from her phone and at the cameraman. “The network wants us to-“

Taylor froze on screen She was looking past the cameraman down at one of the roofs they were flying over. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“That! Look!” Taylor grabbed the cameraman’s arm and turned him around. “On the roof there!”

The image shifted as the cameraman brought his camera around and tried to find what Taylor was pointing at.

“Right there! There!” Taylor was shouting behind the cameraman.

Finally, the camera focused in, and Buck's stomach lurched. The video showed the rooftop over the ally. As everyone watched, the masked man with the metal helmet and camouflage pants Buck had spotted climbed almost effortlessly up the side of the building chasing after the third attacker Buck had faced. The one with the gun. The gunman whirled around when he heard something behind him, and his gun glinted in the sunlight. Taylor and the cameraman gasped. Buck watched the same scene he'd seen from the alley below, the man fired point-blank, and the bullet slammed into the hero to no effect. Then the masked hero was on him, tackling him to the ground and tying him up, before effortlessly flipping away across the roofs.

The image on screen shifted back to Taylor and the news anchor.

"And there you have it, folks!" Taylor said cheerily. "LA's very own superhero! Now we don't know much about our masked hero yet but-"

Buck tuned the TV out. They weren’t talking about him. Taylor Kelly and the camera crew had completely missed Buck fighting the other guys in the alley. First the shift from hell and now this… Buck stomped out of the room. He had some work to do before he suited up again.


End file.
